The recent turbulence in the U.S. stock markets is spooking some older workers and retirees, a group that was hit particularly hard during the most recent financial crisis. There’s no indication, though, that the recent volatility has brought about large-scale overhauls in retirement planning. “There’s a lot of fear that if you have another event like 2008 and you retire the year before or the year after, you’re screwed. I’m not taking that risk,” says Mark Patterson, a recently retired patent attorney from Nashville, Tennessee. “There’s a huge fear of folks my age that they’re going to run out of money and they’re going to need to rely on the government for help.” By the time the market bottomed out during the financial crisis in 2009, an estimated $2.7 trillion had been wiped out of Americans’ retirement accounts, according to the Urban Institute. Older Americans, in particular, have had a tough time recovering their losses. The Pew Research Center estimates the net worth of the median Baby Boomer household in 2016 was still nearly 18 percent shy of where it sat in 2007.

Even the best of cooks can end up missing an ingredient on Thanksgiving morning. If you find yourself short on nutmeg or minus a few potatoes, there is a good chance a grocery store near you will be open on Thanksgiving for at least for part of the day. Here is a list of Thanksgiving Day openings, closings and store hours for national grocery store chains. Reminder: Some stores do not follow national opening/closing hours. Some state laws prohibit stores being open on a holiday. Be sure to check with your local stores for times. ALDI: All stores are closed on Thanksgiving. AJ's Fine Foods: Open 6 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Albertsons: Open from 6 a.m.-5 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Bashas': Open until 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving. BJ's Wholesale Club: BJ’s is closed Thanksgiving. Costco: All stores will be closed on Thanksgiving. Food Lion: Most stores will be open until 3 p.m. (depending on the store). Fresh Market: Open until 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Ingles: Open regular hours on Thanksgiving. Kroger: Stores are open regular hours on Thanksgiving. Publix: All stores and pharmacies will be closed on Thanksgiving; regular hours resume on Friday. Safeway: Most stores will be open from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. Sam's Club: All stores are closed on Thanksgiving. Sprouts Farmers Market: Open 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Target: Stores open at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving and close at 1 a.m. Friday. Trader Joes: All stores closed on Thanksgiving. Walmart: Stores will be open on Thanksgiving. Wegmans: Most Wegmans locations will close at 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving. Whole Foods: Hours: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

After a post-election vote fight that showcased vote counting troubles in two south Florida counties, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) conceded defeat to Gov. Rick Scott (R) on Sunday, ensuring Republican gains in the Senate in the 2018 mid-term elections, and delivering a welcome piece of good post-election news for President Donald Trump and the GOP. “I just spoke with Senator Bill Nelson, who graciously conceded, and I thanked him for his years of public service,” said Scott in a statement. “My focus will not be on looking backward, but on doing exactly what I ran on,” Scott said. “Making Washington Work.” Florida elections officials on Sunday announced a final advantage for Scott of 10,033 votes – that was down from just under 15,000 in favor of Scott when the machine recount began, and lower than the nearly 12,500 edge for the GOP before the hand recount started on Friday. For Republicans, the hard fought win gives them a gain of two seats in the Senate for 2019, as the GOP will have a 53-47 edge, provided they can also win a special runoff election for Senate in Mississippi after Thanksgiving. The Scott victory was a rare piece of good news for Republicans since Election Day, as the GOP has lost a number of close House races in recent days. Democrats have now gained 37 seats in the House, with five GOP seats still undecided amid continued vote counting. Nelson becomes the fifth U.S. Senator to lose in November, joining three other Democrats – McCaskill in Missouri, Heitkamp in North Dakota, and Donnelly in Indiana – along with one Republican Senator, Heller in Nevada. While 5 Senators were tossed out by the voters in November, 27 House members – all Republicans – have been defeated. Several more could still lose in the five remaining House contests which are undecided. Hanging over the defeat for Nelson is what appears to have been a ballot design problem in one small part of Broward County, Florida, where thousands of voters did not cast a vote in the U.S. Senate race, which happened at a much higher rate than other areas in that county. The Florida Senate count is at Scott+10,033, right around the margin where the Broward County undervote/bad ballot design could have been decisive. We may never know https://t.co/Gg14C1heaV — Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) November 18, 2018 The ‘undervote’ problems in that area of Broward County were just part of a slew of post-election issues highlighted by the wrangling over the final tally in both the Florida Senate and Florida Governor’s race.

Over a week after being publicly ridiculed for losing her seat in Congress by President Donald Trump, Rep. Mia Love (R-UT) on Friday night was on the verge of pulling off a stunning comeback in her re-election bid, as the continued counting of ballots in her Utah district finally pushed her into the lead by a slender 419 votes. “Hard to see how she relinquishes that now,” said Dave Wasserman, an elections expert who has been forecasting a possible comeback by Love for several days. Still being tabulated are thousands of provisional ballots in Utah and Salt Lake counties, which take time to verify, as Utah and a number of other states slowly push their way through the votes of the November mid-term elections. The jump into first place for Love came as a judge tossed out a lawsuit that she filed – which oddly would have stopped vote counting in Salt Lake County – a move that her opponent said ‘smacks of desperation.’ “Utah voters deserve better than this,” said Democrat Ben McAdams. With the Utah County numbers posting, Rep. Mia Love has taken a 419-vote lead over Ben McAdams. #utpol — #VoteGehrke (@RobertGehrke) November 16, 2018 But the McAdams lead over Love has slowly withered away in recent days, leaving Love favored by many to win re-election. A comeback victory would be filled with irony, especially after the mocking ridicule heaped upon Love and a number of other House Republicans by President Donald Trump, who said the day after the elections that Love and others were defeated because they refused to embrace him. “Mia Love gave me no love and she lost,” the President said, almost seeming to enjoy the outcome. “Too bad. Sorry about that Mia.” President Trump lists Republicans who didn't embrace him and lost. 'They did very poorly. I'm not sure that I should be happy or sad, but I feel just fine about it.' 'Mia Love gave me no love and she lost. Too bad. Sorry about that Mia.' pic.twitter.com/ZV7EKcWjLX — CSPAN (@cspan) November 7, 2018 Two weekends after the elections, a small number of races remained undecided – with some that could stretch until after Thanksgiving: FLORIDA SENATE – With a manual recount finishing up, and Florida’s 67 counties waiting through Saturday to deal with any other stray ballots, Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) seems headed for victory over Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL). This will give the GOP a big victory, and a 2 seat margin in the U.S. Senate. From a statistical/electoral/historical perspective, Scott's defeat of Nelson is pretty much unmatched in recent political history. Beating a swing state opposition party senator without a hint of scandal in a midterm… It's quite impressive. — (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) November 17, 2018 CALIFORNIA 39 – This is the first of six (or maybe seven) undecided House races. After holding the lead for days, Republican Young Kim has now been swamped by late votes coming from both Orange and Los Angeles counties, and now trails Democrat Gil Cisneros by over 3,000 votes. This should complete what is a total GOP wipeout in Orange County, as Democrats would gain six GOP seats in the Golden State. Congressional districts in Orange County, Calif. in 2016 and in 2018 pic.twitter.com/TWRQ1pPzS4 — Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) November 16, 2018 CALIFORNIA 21 – This seat has already been called by the AP and other news organizations for the Republicans, but as the votes keep coming in, Rep. David Valadao’s lead keeps shrinking, and some wonder if he can hold on. This might be a long shot, but it bears watching. It’s hard to fathom that Democrats could gain a seventh seat in California. We've been watching CA-21 like a hawk for more than a week now, and the chance for Democrat T J Cox to catch up to Valadao has gone from remote but intriguingly possibile to plausible. We're moving this one to our uncalled races tab. https://t.co/FeGWU7SsoE — Daniel Donner (@donnermaps) November 17, 2018 UTAH 4 – As mentioned above, Rep. Mia Love (R-UT) now has the lead. This would be a big save for Republicans, who have had very little to cheer about in the past 10 days since the elections. In fact, there has been an almost daily drumbeat of Democratic victories each night since then, as they edge closer to a possible pickup of almost 40 House seats, their largest gains since 1974 after Watergate. BREAKING: As expected, #UT04 GOP Rep. Mia Love (R) has pulled into the lead over Ben McAdams (D) by 419 votes. Hard to see how she relinquishes it now. https://t.co/nfsptUdHiN — Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) November 16, 2018 NEW YORK 22 – This seat can probably be called for the Democrats by the AP and other organizations, as absentee ballot counts on Friday went clearly for Democrat Anthony Brindisi, leaving Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) behind by over 3,000 votes in this northern New York district. This is not a spot where the GOP should have lost. @Redistrict Brindisi lead in NY22 has surged to more 3000 votes! I see no path to victory for Tenney. She's falling further behind as more ballots are counted, that's a losing combination, a larger deficit, and fewer votes left to count. https://t.co/ae1Ny8Osws — Kevin O'Connell (@Kevtoco) November 17, 2018 NEW YORK 27 – Indicted Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) still leads by over 1,000 votes in this western New York district, with one big cache of absentee ballots and provisionals to count next Tuesday around Buffalo. Democrat Nate McMurray has been winning a majority of absentee ballots in recent days in counties where he lost the Election Day vote, making some wonder if he has a chance to win this race at the last minute next week. This is the equivalent of betting a horse that’s maybe 9-1. It might win. Nate McMurray continues to gain ground in counties that he lost to Rep. Chris Collins in. Biggest test will be Tuesday when the Erie County absentee and affidavit votes will be counted. https://t.co/f5nincKkZx — WGRZ (@WGRZ) November 16, 2018 GEORGIA 7 – While the race for Governor is over, Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA) has a 419 vote edge in this suburban Atlanta district, with all of the votes counted. Democratic challenger Carolyn Bourdeaux announced on Friday afternoon that she would ask for a recount. While a recount doesn’t usually switch the outcome, we have certainly seen in Florida and other states in recent days where there are tabulation errors uncovered – so you can’t say this is in the bag for the GOP – but they are favored. News: We will file for a recount of the 7th district race. With a margin of only 419 votes (0.14%), we want to make sure every vote was counted correctly &amp; fairly. It is crucial that every eligible vote is counted &amp; every voice is heard. #GA07 #GAPol — Carolyn Bourdeaux (@Carolyn4GA7) November 16, 2018 TEXAS 23 – Even though she’s behind by just under 1,000 votes, Cindy Ortiz Jones spent the week in Washington going through freshman orientation, but that may not work out for the Texas Democrat, as Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) seems like he’s in good position in this race, leading by 0.5 percent. Hurd’s people on Friday were declaring victory, but it wasn’t clear if Jones would press for any kind of vote review. Republicans are favored to hold on to this border district, but it was much closer than anyone had predicted. Bexar County has finished counting, leaving only six votes left to count (Kinney &amp; Upton). @WillHurd has won by 928 votes, this race is over #TX23 — Connor Pfeiffer (@ConnorPfeiffer) November 16, 2018 Democrats right now have a net gain of 36 seats – they should win at least two of the undecided races left, and have an outside chance at others. Right now, the new Congress stands at 231 Democrats to 198 Republicans, with six seats undecided. One final note – this extended time of vote counting is totally normal. Reporters follow it every two years, but many partisans think there is something amiss.

Deputies say Rick Swan’s body was found in a burned travel trailer east of Claremore on Thursday. Investigators tracked down Kevin Foster, the victim’s stepson at his home in Bixby and arrested him for first degree murder and first degree arson. “He certainly denied the fact that he had been in Claremore yesterday,” said Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton. “And we know by multiple sources and video that he was.” Sheriff Walton says it was well known that Foster and Swan had been in a feud.

LIVE BLOG: Supreme Court hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh

Posted: 8:00 am Tuesday, September 4th, 2018

By Jamie Dupree

The fireworks began immediately as Senate Confirmation hearings got underway today for President Donald Trump’s choice of federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh for the U.S. Supreme Court, as Democrats protested how documents had been withheld, and denounced a Labor Day dump of some 42,000 pages of Kavanaugh materials last night.

The hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee had barely started when Democrats repeatedly interrupted the Chairman of the panel, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), as demonstrators erupted in the audience, with Capitol Police hauling out multiple people as they yelled and shouted at Senators.

Stick with us today as we try to give you a flavor for what’s going on inside the hearing room, outside the hearing room, and in the court of public opinion, as judge Brett Kavanaugh aims to replace the retired Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court.

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5:00 pm – The first day is over, as Judge Kavanaugh gave his opening statement, vowing to be an independent member of the U.S. Supreme Court, and saying that the “Court must never be viewed as a partisan institution.”

Judge Kavanaugh: "If confirmed to the Supreme Court, I would be part of a Team of Nine, committed to deciding cases according to the Constitution and laws of the United States." #SCOTUSpic.twitter.com/a7AUFE7q2F

4:37 pm – It took a while, but Judge Brett Kavanaugh is now giving his opening statement. ” I thank President Trump for the honor of this nomination. As a judge and as a citizen, I was deeply impressed by the President’s careful attention to the nomination process and by his thorough consideration of potential nominees,” Kavanaugh said.

4:05 pm – After Sen. Graham praised President Trump for picking both Justice Neil Gorsuch and now Judge Brett Kavanaugh, there will be a short break. Senators will then hear several people introduce Kavanaugh, and Senators will finally hear his opening statement. Questions will start on Wednesday morning.

3:55 pm – Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) blasts Kavanaugh to his face, accusing him of being an ideologue. “I am concerned your loyalty would be to the President who appointed you, and not to the Constitution.” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) then fired right back, calling such talk ‘absurd.’ “This is shaping up to be the hypocrisy hearing,” Graham said, accusing Democrats of saying it’s okay to nominate a liberal to the Supreme Court, but not a conservative.

2:40 pm – Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) says he agrees with earlier observations of Sen. Sasse, saying the Supreme Court has become too political. “I want a judge,” Kennedy said. “I don’t want a politician,” as Kennedy says the Court “is not supposed to fix” the country. Since coming to the Senate, Kennedy has more than filled the empty role of a sharp-tongued-Southern-Senator, who routinely produces good quotes for reporters.

Kennedy’s been testing all these Kavanaugh one-liners on reporters for weeks now

2:30 pm – Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) says he will directly ask Kavanaugh on how he would rule on Roe v. Wade and abortion. It’s likely to be one of a number of efforts by Democrats to get Kavanaugh on the record – but don’t expect much in the way of concrete answers – that’s standard for Supreme Court nominees. But it’s still a dance that goes on, and you never know what might be said when the question is asked.

Sen. Blumenthal again asks for a vote on his motion to adjourn. Asks to move to executive session. Protesters yell "Listen to the people!" "Save Roe!"

2:20 pm – Two GOP Senators have now referenced Monday’s tweet by President Trump, which registered his displeasure with Attorney General Jeff Sessions allowing indictments to go forward of two GOP lawmakers in the U.S. House. “They were wrong and they should be condemned,” Sen. Sasse said of Mr. Trump’s tweet. “I think it’s very concerning,” said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ).

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) now citing Trump's tweet from Sunday: "Jeff Sessions has resisted pressure from the punish his enemies and relieve pressures from his friends." He says that he expects to have "a number of questions" on that subject.

1:40 pm – Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) bemoans the politicization of the U.S. Supreme Court. “It is not healthy,” Sasse says, arguing that the Congress needs to do its job, rather than punting political disagreements to the courts. Sasse says if Americans see protestors in front of the Supreme Court, that is misplaced, arguing those demonstrators should be making their case to the Congress, which is a political branch. That plea comes as a storm suddenly pops up over the Capitol.

Monday night document Massacre! That means you bury your inquiring senators in 42,000 more Kavanaugh documents the night BEFORE the hearing starts. I work late and read fast but not even I could read them before we start. #MoreCoffee. #postpone

1:17 pm – The panel is back in session. Sen. Grassley starts out with a defense of how the GOP has handled the document requests dealing with Judge Kavanaugh.

1:00 pm – The Senate Judiciary Committee has taken a lunch break. As I mentioned earlier, the hearing has taken on the feel of a regular Congressional hearing, though we are still having some screaming from people in the audience, who are quickly removed. After all Senators give their opening statements, there will be introductions of the judge, and then Kavanaugh will give his opening statement. Q&A won’t start until Wednesday morning.

11:50 am – Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) greets Judge Kavanaugh, notes all of the outbursts and interruptions, calling it the “noise of democracy.”

11:45 am – If you are wondering what people are yelling as they interrupt the Kavanaugh hearings, it’s a mix of different things.

Winner, most unusual shout from a protester at Kavanaugh hearings: "I had to have a background check to work in a laundromat!"

11:10 am – After about 90 minutes of verbal battles, the hearing has settled into a normal kind of Congressional gathering. Judge Kavanaugh is at the witness table listening to Senators give their opening statements. Chairman Grassley has indicated that Kavanaugh will give his opening statement later this afternoon. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) says she thinks Kavanaugh is ‘far outside the mainstream’ when it comes to views on the Second Amendment.

11:00 am – Some thoughts from this reporter about the document issue. I’ll let others fight about who is right and who is wrong on the production of documents related to Judge Kavanaugh. But what I did notice over recent weeks was that the Senate Judiciary Committee released documents multiple times late on a Friday, on Saturday, Sunday, or on a federal holiday like Labor Day. Maybe that kind of weekend stuff has happened before. But it struck me as notable.

10:50 am – Sen. Grassley starts giving his opening statement, and more demonstrators start popping up, screaming, yelling, and interrupting him, before they are escorted out of the hearing room. Over two dozen people have already been arrested.

10:45 am – Sen. Grassley tells Democrats that they can keep talking, but nothing is going to change. At this point, Judge Kavanaugh is expected to testify around 2:30 pm ET. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) says on Twitter that all the complaints from Democrats are just politics.

The idea that we don’t have enough documents to evaluate this nominee is as absurd as an alligator in a tutu. More than 511,000 pages of documents have been delivered to the @senjudiciary. That’s more documents received than any other Supreme Court Justice nominee. Ever.

10:30 am – The mantra from Democrats is pretty basic about the documents on Judge Kavanaugh – “What are they hiding?” is the message being repeated by Democratic Senators, as they demand to know why the White House is asserting executive privilege over documents from Kavanaugh’s time working for President George W. Bush. Democrats also say there are thousands of documents which they are not allowed to talk about in public.

The fact that the Senate Judiciary Committee can’t take a few days or weeks to completely review Judge Kavanaugh’s record is unfair to the American people. Where is the transparency? #WhatAreTheyHidingpic.twitter.com/U0gFDQeftc

10:25 am – Demonstrators continue to yell and scream during the hearing, and the Capitol Police are hustling them out of the hearing room in the Hart Senate Office Building. My colleague Lisa DesJardins of PBS says many of those seats are not being filled once people are hauled out.

NOW: Police are leaving most of the Kavanaugh seats for the public stay empty after protesters escorted out. pic.twitter.com/nRjtHOrAKn

10:20 am – Republicans say Democrats are simply trying to do anything they can to disrupt the hearings, knowing that they don’t have the votes to stop Judge Kavanaugh in the Senate.

Seems they’ve pivoted from suggesting there’s a plot to keep information about Kavanaugh secret to … trying to keep information about Kavanaugh secret by preventing a hearing about Kavanaugh from happening.

10:07 am – More screaming and yelling from the audience, as Sen. Grassley refuses to allow a vote on a motion to adjourn the committee. “This process will be tainted and stained forever,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

10:00 am – I have covered every Supreme Court nomination hearing since Antonin Scalia. I have never seen anything like this. Democrats still expressing aggravation about a 42,000 page document dump last night.

9:35 am – Judge Kavanaugh has entered the room, sitting down in front of an armada of photographers, as the Chairman gently gavels the hearing to order.

9:10 am – I mentioned the testimony of Chief Justice John Roberts earlier – his “umpire” reference came in his confirmation hearings in September of 2005, when he told the Senate Judiciary Committee this: “Judges are like umpires. Umpires don’t make the rules; they apply them. The role of an umpire and a judge is critical. They make sure everybody plays by the rules.” Later, Roberts added, “I will remember that it’s my job to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat. But it is a limited role. Nobody ever went to a ball game to see the umpire.”

9:00 am – Walking around Capitol Hill this morning, I saw one person with a bullhorn, so it was obvious right away this was not a normal Monday. Inside the Hart Senate Office building, not far from the hearing room, there are other demonstrators as well.

8:55 am – Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee gathered in front of the U.S. Supreme Court before the hearing began to denounce how Republicans have handled documents and more about Judge Kavanaugh. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA): “We go to these hearings under protest,” denouncing the 42,000 page document dump last night on Labor Day. “Obviously, no one has been able to look at them yet.”

8:45 am – The White House has already released some excerpts from Judge Kavanaugh’s opening statement: “To me, Justice Kennedy is a mentor, a friend, and a hero. As a Member of the Court, he was a model of civility and collegiality. He fiercely defended the independence of the Judiciary. And he was a champion of liberty,” Kavanaugh will say.

Kavanaugh will also then echo the testimony of Chief Justice John Roberts: “A good judge must be an umpire — a neutral and impartial arbiter who favors no litigant or policy….I don’t decide cases based on personal or policy preferences. I am not a pro-plaintiff or pro-defendant judge. I am not a pro-prosecution or pro-defense judge. I am a pro-law judge.”

8:30 am – In the heat and humidity of this September morning, there are many people already lined up outside the Senate office buildings, waiting for a chance to get into the hearings.

8:00 am – Everyone has an idea on what kind of questions to ask. Think about this hearing like a sporting event, and you are the coach. You have a game plan – or you BETTER have a game plan. For Republicans, the game plan is simple. You extol the virtues of the nominee, cite positive stories, and be prepared to defend him against attacks by Democrats. But for Democrats, it’s not as simple. Yes, you want to try to undermine the nominee – but how best to do that? What issues do you focus on? Abortion? Regulations? Kavanaugh’s time working in the Bush White House? How he regards Presidential investigations? There are a host of ideas – and not every Senator will be on the same page in terms of a game plan. One thing that is making Democrats mad has been the production of documents about Kavanaugh. We’ve seen a number of document dumps on Saturdays, Sundays, and even on Labor Day evening. Look for Democrats to bring that up today.

🚨🚨 The Senate was just given an additional 42,000 pages of Kavanaugh documents the NIGHT BEFORE his confirmation hearing. This underscores just how absurd this process is. Not a single senator will be able to review these records before tomorrow.